


An Off Day

by JosephineStone, orpheous87, semperfiona_podfic (semperfiona)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gobstones (Harry Potter), Harry Potter Next Generation, M/M, Podfic & Podficced Works, Podfic Length: 1.5-2 Hours, body switching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-07 00:03:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20515715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JosephineStone/pseuds/JosephineStone, https://archiveofourown.org/users/orpheous87/pseuds/orpheous87, https://archiveofourown.org/users/semperfiona/pseuds/semperfiona_podfic
Summary: The last thing Draco needs the day before his wedding to Harry is to wake up in his disgruntled son’s body. Scorpius is tired of his father being on his case all of the time, and it’s only become worse as the wedding approaches. But, perhaps a day in each other’s lives is just what they never knew they needed.





	An Off Day

**Author's Note:**

> **Warnings: ** None  
**Authors’/Reader's Notes: **  
O: This is the first time I’ve participated in a collab fest and it’s been a lot of fun. Thank you to my partners for picking up my slack when I had to take a few days away from writing, you’re both awesome. I love this movie and I think we’ve done a good job of bringing the magic to it! 
> 
> J: Thank you so much to everyone who helped with this fest and put in effort to bring it back for this year. To my ever so patient and wonderful partners. Thank you for keeping in touch and being so supportive through this whole process. This is such a cute, funny movie, and I tried to keep my writing light hearted and not all dramatic. But, well, it is me. I’m dramatic. ♥
> 
> S: This is my first time participating in a collab fest as well. Thanks to my partners for happily adding me to the team as a latecomer, and I hope everyone reading and listening has as much fun with this as we did.
> 
> **Disclaimer: **All Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.

  
  
[MP3 download or stream from Google Drive](https://drive.google.com/open?id=1MzVkbUGNiIIzO6fWHp0wGhd_YKrgMESe) | 1:35:27 | 131 MB   
[M4A download](https://drive.google.com/open?id=17bgbf_XWUmisBRS-7sUOv3VlhQA6TCv-) | 1:35:27 | 132 MB 

* * *

‘Scorpius!’ Albus shook him awake. ‘Scorpius! Get up!’ 

He opened his eyes to see Albus was already dressed for the day; his green and silver tie slightly crooked, as always. He smiled as he stretched. Albus was cute when he got all flustered. Scorpius took the opportunity to study Albus’ face from up close. They spent everyday together, but these moments were still rare. 

‘You’re going to be late.’

‘You mean we’re?’ Scorpius said, finally sitting up as Albus pushed away from his bed.

‘I’m not waiting on you,’ Albus said, grabbing his bag and heading for the door. Scorpius had been getting worse in the getting up in the morning department, and Albus was clearly having enough of it. ‘If I’m late again, I’ll get a detention.’

‘What does it matter? Your parents don’t care if you get a detention for being late.’

‘I care! I don’t want a detention!’

‘Why are you so loud this morning?’

Albus was quiet for a moment. ‘You know what weekend this is?’

Oh shit. 

Their parents were coming to take them to dinner in Hogsmeade that night. Scorpius and Albus’s dads were marrying each other, and the wedding was that weekend. Albus and Scorpius have always got along well so this shouldn’t be a big deal to them, right? 

Yay, they’d be brothers! Who doesn’t want to be brothers with your best friend?

That was the thought on everyone else’s mind.

But Scorpius didn’t.

He wanted to date his best friend. His best friend that was getting increasingly frustrated with him as this wedding approached. Scorpius didn’t mean to be so negative about it. Everyone was happy about it. Even Albus from what Scorpius had seen. He pulled himself out of bed after rolling his eyes and quickly began dressing. He didn’t want to upset Albus any more than the situation already had. 

‘They make each other happy,’ Albus said. ‘Don’t you want our parents to be happy?’

‘Of course I do.’ Scorpius finished getting dressed and started to look for his school supplies as Albus, of course, waited by the door. ‘I just don’t know why they had to do this while we were in school. Why not wait for summer? Who has a wedding in the middle of the school year?’

‘Lots of people,’ Albus pointed out. ‘They want to be done with the honeymoon by summer break so they can actually spend the summer with us. This is our last year.’

‘I know. Ready.’ Scorpius pushed past Albus and out the door. Albus was quick behind him. ‘I’m sorry. I don’t mean to take this out on you. I’m just not a morning person.’

‘You’re apparently not much of a wedding person, either.’

Scorpius chose not to answer that.

‘Their marriage doesn’t really even affect us that much, and they've been together for years. I don’t understand why it’s bothering you.’

‘I never said it bothered me.’

‘You’ve been acting like it.’

‘You sound like my dad.’

‘Maybe your dad has a point.’ Albus grabbed Scorpius’ arm, stopping him. ‘Wrong way, Scor. It’s Thursday. Defense is our first class today, not Potions.’

‘Shite.’ Then seeing the confusion on Albus’ face, he said, ‘Sorry, I’m just—’

‘No, I get it. It’s awkward for you. It takes some getting used to, having your dad teach one of your classes.’

Scorpius stopped himself from pointing out that Al’s dad was not his dad. Even after the marriage, he would not be his dad. He liked Harry. Respected him, of course, who didn’t? He’s Harry Potter. But Draco was his dad. Would always be his dad. And Harry was hardly a replacement for a dead mum. Not that he wanted nor needed a replacement for her.

‘It’s nice really, getting to see my dad at school.’

‘I know,’ Scorpius said. He remembered when Harry took the position. It used to be their favorite class, even though Scorpius wasn’t that great at it. After Al’s parents divorced, he lived with his mum. Having his dad be a teacher meant more time with him. It meant things like tonight: going out to dinner in the middle of a school week. 

Scorpius let Albus guide him the rest of the way to class. Then took a deep breath before entering; thankfully, not late.

#

‘Draco, Draco, calm down,’ Harry said as Draco rushed around that morning getting everything together. ‘Just relax. We have everything done. This is supposed to be the relaxing part where we just enjoy the wedding.’

He was making a list of people to call to make sure that everything was done, picked up, and ready.

‘Can you just trust that everyone knows how to do their jobs? They do weddings every day; I’m sure they have it together.’

‘Did Scorpius and Albus make it to their fitting? Did we get their suits ordered?’ Draco ran to his list to see it was marked off.

‘Yes,’ Harry said. ‘Albus made sure of it. I swear you two are exactly alike.’

Draco glared at Harry. He and Scorpius were nothing alike. ‘He’s much more like your family.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘Careless and spontaneous.’

‘I’m going to take that as a compliment.’ Harry finished his coffee and moved to kiss Draco, who didn’t notice and swept past him, cleaning the kitchen as he went. ‘And I was talking about Albus. Well, I need to get to Hogwarts. I’ll get the kids this evening and meet you at dinner?’

‘Yes, yes, of course,’ Draco said, distractedly.

Harry shook his head and decided to take the Floo rather than Apparate, as he realised he’d left it too late to get from the Apparition Point outside of Hogwarts to his classroom on the second floor. The last thing he wanted was to be late for a class his own son and soon to be stepson were in. 

As he threw a handful of Floo powder into the flames and called out his destination, the last thing he saw was Draco sweeping through the kitchen with a duster. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight. 

Five minutes later, Harry opened the door from his office and stepped into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, smiling as the chatter immediately died down. 

‘Good morning everyone,’ he said, perching on the edge of his desk. ‘I trust that you’ve all done the reading I asked for?’ 

‘Yes, Professor,’ came the chorus of replies, though Harry noticed that Scorpius did not join in. He made a mental note to check whether everything was okay with Albus later. 

‘Excellent! Good stuff,’ Harry said, rubbing his hands together as he stood up again. ‘Please get out your textbooks and your wands, we’re going to practice the Patronus charm that we started learning in the last lesson.’ 

‘Brilliant!’ Albus said, grinning at Scorpius. ‘I really want to see what form my Patronus will take.’ 

Scorpius grunted in reply, reluctantly pulling his wand out of his bag. 

‘What? Aren’t you curious about yours?’ Albus asked, pushing his hair out of his eyes and looking at Scorpius, who shrugged. 

‘I don’t think I’m going to find out any time soon,’ Scorpius replied. ‘I can’t find a memory that’s happy enough.’ 

‘You must have something,’ Albus said, frowning. ‘What about all the times you’ve got an O in Potions?’ 

Scorpius snorted. ‘There’s no way those count as some of my happiest memories,’ he said. ‘I have lots of happy memories with my mum.’ 

‘Well, one of them must be good enough?’ Albus asked, flipping his textbook open to the page they’d been reading from the last lesson. 

Scorpius shrugged again. ‘Maybe. I suppose we’ll find out, won’t we?’

Albus frowned again, but didn’t say anything. Scorpius had been in a funny mood since he’d woken up and was apparently determined to stay in his funk. 

‘All right, settle down,’ Harry raised his voice. ‘Did we all practice the incantation from last lesson?'

‘Yes, Professor!’ Another chorus of replies. 

‘Good, then let's get started. Who wants to go first?’ Harry said, looking round for volunteers. ‘Albus? Scorpius?’ 

Albus nudged Scorpius, looking at him inquiringly. He caught the tiny shake of his head that Scorpius gave and sighed. ‘I’ll go,’ he said, standing up and moving to the front of the class. 

_’Expecto Patronum!’_ Albus recited, waving his wand in a wonky circle. A silvery plume burst from the end of his wand before vanishing. 

‘Very good, Albus!’ Harry exclaimed, beaming. ‘That’s excellent progress. Keep working on it.’ 

Albus grinned at his father and took his place next to Scorpius again. ‘Did you see that, Scorp?’ he asked in an excited whisper. 

‘Yeah, good one,’ Scorpius said, giving his best friend a genuine smile. ‘That was loads better than your last attempt.’ 

‘Scorpius, do you want to go next?’ Harry asked, nodding slightly at the blond boy. 

Scorpius sighed and stood up. ‘All right, but I doubt it’ll work,’ he muttered.

‘Don’t worry about it being perfect,’ Harry advised, giving Scorpius an encouraging smile. ‘You can perfect it later, we just want to get the beginnings of the spell.’

Taking a deep breath, Scorpius held his wand up. _‘Expecto Patronum,’_ he said, moving his wand at the same time. A very small, barely there, wisp of silver spurted from his wand. He could hear sniggering from somewhere in the classroom and a whispered ‘That’s what happens when your dad’s a Death Eater’ from someone else, and he snapped. 

Whirling round, Scorpius flourished his wand. _ ‘Avis!’_ he cried, sending a flock of birds towards the rest of his classmates, who screamed in shock. 

_ ‘Protego!’_ Harry bellowed, casting a shield between Scorpius and the rest of the class, watching as the birds disappeared when they hit it. ‘Scorpius, what in Merlin’s name do you think you’re doing?’ 

Scorpius glared at the class before looking at Harry defiantly. ‘Didn’t you hear what they said? They were mocking _my dad_!’ 

‘Yes, I heard them,’ Harry said. ‘That is no excuse for setting a flock of birds on them. _I_ will deal with them. You don’t need to take matters into your own hands. I’m afraid I’ve got no choice but to take ten points from Slytherin for that.’ 

Albus groaned from somewhere behind Scorpius, whose eyes flashed with anger as he glared at Harry. ‘So I get punished but they don’t? How is that fair!’

‘I didn’t say they wouldn’t be punished,’ Harry said. ‘But you cannot go around sending flocks of birds at your classmates! What has gotten into you?’ 

‘_Nothing, sir_,’ Scorpius said with a hint of a sneer that reminded Harry so perfectly of Draco that it shocked him. 

‘Scorpius,’ Harry said warningly. 

‘_Professor_,’ Scorpius replied, folding his arms across his chest. 

Harry counted to ten in his head before turning away from Scorpius. ‘Detention at lunchtime,’ he said. ‘Be back here at the start of your lunch period. Don’t make me come and find you. Right, who’s next?’ 

Scorpius slumped into his seat, deliberately turning away from the puzzled look that Albus was giving him.

#

‘Draco? I need to talk to you before we meet the boys,’ Harry called as he stepped out of the Floo at home once he’d finished his last class of the day.

‘In here,’ Draco called back. ‘I don’t think the caterer got my message about the canapés.’

‘They did, don’t worry,’ Harry said as he entered the living room. He wrapped his arms around Draco from behind and rested his chin on the blond’s shoulder. ‘They called back to confirm.’

‘And you didn’t think to tell me?’ Draco exclaimed, turning his head to face Harry. 

‘I’m sorry,’ Harry replied, kissing Draco’s cheek lightly. ‘I forgot. Listen, I need to tell you—’ 

‘You can’t just _forget_ these things!’ Draco cut him off. ‘You know I’m dreading something going wrong.’ 

‘I know, I know,’ Harry said soothingly. ‘I really am sorry. It won’t happen again. Listen, I had to give Scorpius detention today.’

‘What?’ Draco asked, turning fully in Harry’s arms to face his fiancé. ‘Why?’ 

Harry sighed. ‘He sent a flock of crazy birds at the rest of the class,’ he said. ‘We were practicing the Patronus charm. Scorpius seems to be having some trouble getting the hang of it, and unfortunately, a couple of the other students in class brought up your… past transgressions. He was angry.’ 

Draco groaned softly, closing his eyes. ‘Being angry isn’t an excuse,’ he said. ‘He can’t act out like that, not in any class, never mind yours.’ 

‘I know. I tried taking points, but that didn’t have any effect,’ Harry said. ‘So I had no choice.’

‘It’s not your fault,’ Draco said, opening his eyes again. ‘He’s been out of sorts for quite a while. I’ve never known him get one detention, never mind three in one month. I’ll speak to him tonight before we eat. This behaviour has to stop before the wedding.’ 

Harry pressed his lips to Draco’s forehead in a lingering kiss. ‘Albus, Lily and I will give you some space.’ 

‘Thank you,’ Draco replied, relaxing into Harry’s embrace.

They stayed like that for a few more minutes, enjoying the peace. 

‘Are you ready to go?’ Harry asked, breaking the silence. ‘Or do you need to get changed?’

‘No, I’m ready,’ Draco said. ‘This is the third outfit I’ve had on today, the next change of clothes will be into my pyjamas… or my birthday suit.’

Harry laughed. ‘All right,’ he said. ‘Let’s get back to the school then. The boys and Lily will be waiting for us.’ 

Draco tightened his grip on Harry again. ‘We’ll Apparate. They can meet us at the school gates to walk into Hogsmeade. I’ll talk to Scorpius on the way.’

Harry nodded, preparing himself for the Apparition. Within seconds, they were standing outside the gates to Hogwarts, looking up at the school.

#

‘It’ll be fine,’ Albus assured Scorpius.

‘Yeah,’ Scorpius said without any enthusiasm. 

‘What happened?’ Lily asked.

‘Dad gave Scorp detention today.’

‘Like, _our_ dad?’

‘No,’ Albus answered, rolling his eyes. ‘That other person we call dad at school.’

Scorpius gave Albus a look that said: _now who’s being a jerk_?

‘It was just a question,’ Lily said. ‘Dad never gives detention.’

Albus’ parents didn’t care if he got detention for being _late_, but Scorpius’ father was a different story. Detention was unacceptable. It coming from Harry was worse and for misbehaviour was even worse. Harry was normally a pushover. He didn’t hand out punishments like some of the other teachers. He was a favourite for a reason, but Scorpius didn’t really care at that moment.

They stood waiting for their fathers and walked toward them once they appeared. They both hesitated and held back, Albus out of nervousness and Scorpius out of frustration, but Lily ran up to her dad and gave him a hug then quickly hugged Draco. 

As if on cue, they separated. Harry, Lily, and Albus walked ahead while Draco walked with Scorpius a few paces back. 

Before his father could say anything, Scorpius said, ‘Can we just go to dinner? I already served the detention.’

‘We need to talk about your behaviour. It’s—’

‘Unacceptable, I know. I lost my temper. I’m pretty sure I learned that from you.’

‘I don’t know what has gotten into you, but it needs to stop. This is a very important weekend for us and … are you even listening to me?’ 

Scorpius wanted to point out that his father was supposed to be the expert on these things, but he didn’t want the familiar lecture about how he wasn’t a child anymore. How he’d be entering the real world soon. Scorpius lived in the real world right then.

‘Yes, I’m listening,’ Scorpius said. ‘You just don’t understand.’

‘Trust me, I’ve been where you are before. I do understand.’

But he expected more from Scorpius than himself. He knew that his grandparents expected perfection out of his father, but they encouraged him to defend himself. To defend his name. Draco was the opposite. He wanted Scorpius to just ignore it all. His grandfather defended his father no matter what he did in school. He’d heard them row about it time and again throughout his childhood. Scorpius wished his own father would have his back for once.

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose, a sign of how stressed he was.

‘Let’s get through this weekend and we’ll talk about the detention and better ways to handle it next week.’

Scorpius nodded instead of saying: thanks for scheduling me in. 

That was his father. Always. Let me add you to my schedule. Scorpius’s grandfather was a lot of things, but he was never too busy for family. He never had to schedule Scorpius in. 

Albus and Harry were waiting at the door for them as they arrived. They joined them and then sat through a very tense and quiet dinner. Harry kept trying to make conversation and Albus joined him, but Scorpius was not in the mood to talk to either of them.

There was music playing around them and Scorpius remembered how he used to love it. 

He picked at his food and watched his family around him. He knew he was being difficult, and it really wasn’t anything personal against Harry, but Scorpius really, really didn’t want the wedding to happen. 

Unknown to them, the restaurant owner had been observing the stilted attempts at conversation from across the room. It didn’t take a genius to work out that their table was not, at that moment, a happy one. Making his way towards the table, he carried a tray of drinks with him. 

‘Your drinks,’ he said, placing glasses in front of Draco and Scorpius with a flourish, then moving round to give the others each a glass, too. 

‘Oh, we didn’t order any more drinks,’ Harry said, looking up at the man. He didn’t recognise him as the restaurant owner but assumed he was a waiter. 

‘Compliments of the restaurant,’ the man replied, bowing to them. ‘In celebration of your upcoming nuptials.’ 

‘Oh… well, thank you,’ Harry smiled, glancing over at Draco, who was gazing at his drink sceptically. 

‘And these are free?’ Draco asked, looking at the bowing man suspiciously. 

‘Absolutely! It is our pleasure to host you and your family this evening,’ the man said with a smile. ‘Please, enjoy!’ 

With that, the man swept away as quickly as he’d arrived, leaving Draco looking at the place he’d been with bemusement. 

‘Well, that was strange,’ Harry said, cheerfully. ‘But who are we to complain about free drinks?’ he added, lifting his glass and taking a sip. 

Albus picked up his glass too, taking a long drink. ‘Oh, this is amazing,’ he said. ‘Scorp, try yours!’ 

Scorpius grunted in reply but picked his glass up and took a sip. Whatever the drink was, it made his whole mouth tingle, and he blinked in surprise. 

‘Oh, it’s sweet,’ Lily said.

Draco, who had taken a sip of his own drink at the exact same time as Scorpius, made a face. ‘Did yours tingle?’ he asked Harry quietly, looking at his glass with suspicion.

Harry shrugged. ‘Maybe a bit,’ he said. ‘Nothing more than Firewhisky.’ 

‘Is yours nice, Scorp?’ Albus asked, looking hopefully at him. 

Scorpius shrugged. ‘‘S’ok,’ he mumbled. ‘Nothing special.’ 

Albus looked disappointed and went back to eating his meal. He didn’t understand what was going on with Scorpius, and he wished that he could do something to help, but unless Scorpius wanted to talk, he had no chance. 

Draco watched Albus’ face fall as Scorpius continued to blank him, and he fought the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose again. ‘Scorpius, come with me a minute.’ 

Scorpius looked up at his father in surprise. ‘What? Now?’ 

‘Yes,’ Draco said, standing up and motioning for Scorpius to do the same. ‘Now.’

‘Draco?’ Harry asked, looking at his husband-to-be. 

Draco shook his head. ‘We’ll be back in a moment,’ he said, leading Scorpius away from the table and towards the back of the restaurant. 

Albus watched them go, frowning slightly and sharing a look of concern with Lily. 

‘Scorpius, I don’t care for this attitude you’ve got going on,’ Draco began, once they were away from the main dining area. ‘This evening was supposed to be a nice family meal before the wedding, and you’ve barely said a word. Even to Albus. Your best friend.’ 

‘I don’t have anything to say,’ Scorpius replied stubbornly, crossing his arms. ‘I’m just not in a good mood tonight. I want to go back to school.’

‘Well, tough,’ Draco replied. ‘You are being positively _rude_ to all of us! Harry makes an effort with you, and you barely give him the time of day. Scorpius, this has to stop. Now.’ 

‘You don’t even know what _this_ is!’ Scorpius exclaimed, finally losing control. ‘You don’t even care that I might not _want_ you and Mr Potter to get married! You don’t act like you miss Mum anymore!’ 

There was a stunned silence and Scorpius realised he might have gone too far this time. He knew that he’d dealt Draco a low blow. 

‘Too far, Scorpius,’ Draco said in a quiet voice after a few minutes. ‘I am not having this conversation with you now. Not when my fiancé and soon-to-be stepson and stepdaughter—_your_ soon-to-be stepbrother and stepsister—are waiting for us so that they can have dessert. Go back to the table now, please.’ 

Scorpius didn’t move. He simply stood and glared at Draco. 

‘I won’t tell you again,’ Draco said. ‘Go. Now.’

Scorpius looked like he wanted to argue, but in the end, he turned on his heel and marched back to the table.

Draco took a deep breath before following. He was troubled by Scorpius’ words. They had spoken about Astoria frequently since she’d passed away, but not once since he’d been with Harry had Draco hinted that he didn’t miss her. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He’d been very honest about how much he missed Astoria—not as a lover, that had been over by the time Scorpius was born—but as a best friend. Harry had been very understanding, given that he had been in the same situation, the only difference being that Ginny was very much still alive. 

Harry caught Draco’s eye as he sat back down at the table and asked a silent question of ‘Everything okay?’

Draco nodded his head slightly, hoping that Harry wouldn’t ask anything else just now. His hopes were granted when Harry simply smiled and offered his dessert menu to Draco. 

‘Thank you,’ Draco said automatically as he took the menu. ‘What are you having?’ 

‘Treacle tart, obviously,’ Harry said with a grin. 

‘You and your bloody treacle tart,’ Draco said, shaking his head with a smile. 

‘Can’t help it,’ Harry said, still grinning. 

‘What do you fancy, Scorpius?’ Albus asked, his voice cautious. ‘I’m having apple pie and custard.’ 

‘I’ll probably have the same,’ Scorpius said, barely glancing at the menu. His face still felt hot from the conversation with Draco. ‘Then we can get back to school,’ he added under his breath. 

Albus smiled, glad that Scorpius was talking again rather than mumbling and grunting.

The restaurant owner watched on from a distance. He was sure that the drinks he’d given to Draco and Scorpius would do the trick to help them see what the other was going through. 

He knew he shouldn’t have done it, but he also knew a potentially tricky situation when he saw one. There was nothing he loved more than seeing two people falling in love. After all the dinners he’d watched between Harry and Draco over the years, he couldn’t allow their family to fall apart right before their wedding. He’d practically watched Scorpius, Albus and their siblings grow up.

#

Draco stretched as he woke up and rolled to Harry’s side. Only Harry wasn’t there, and he must have been closer to the edge than he thought because he fell right out of the bed and onto the ground.

‘Harry!’ Draco called out as he fell.

The first odd thing that he noticed was that his floor was stone. They had wood floors, not stone. Then his hands. His nails had bits of chipped off nail polish on them and were bitten short.

‘Scorpius?’ Draco heard Albus’ voice behind him. ‘Did you just call for my dad?’

‘No!’ After rolling over and sitting up, Draco faltered for an excuse. ‘I must have been having a nightmare.’

‘About my dad?’

‘Yeah?’

Draco looked at his nails again and contemplated just telling Albus the truth. 

He’d understand. Switching bodies, although not a daily occurrence, wasn’t that out of the ordinary. He’d also be able to help Draco figure out if this curse was directed at Scorpius or himself. Scorpius had been complaining about his classmates recently. It could just be a prank. They were Slytherins and back in his day at Hogwarts inconvenient pranks were common. 

With his own parent showed a lack of respect, though. 

Since the war, a lack of respect was something his family simply had to deal with.

Getting up, Draco decided the best course of action was to owl into his office and cancel all his appointments for the day. He could get to the bottom of it himself. He was the adult after all, even if he was in Scorpius’ body for the moment. He studied curse breaking in his youth before becoming a Mind Healer. He’d figure it out by lunch.

Albus watched him wearily, but he got ready for the day and quickly Draco joined him. He stumbled over finding everything he needed for the day at first. Scorpius wasn’t nearly as organized as Draco was. 

‘I need to head to the owlery before breakfast.’

‘Breakfast?’ Albus looked confused.

‘Yes, that meal in the morning. We eat it before class.’

‘Are you alright?’

‘Of course.’

‘You want to go to breakfast?’

Draco checked the time. It was plenty early enough for him to make it both to the owlery and then to breakfast before their first class. He knew that Scorpius tended to be late, but Draco never started a morning without breakfast. He wouldn’t be able to concentrate. Surely they ate before class.

Albus moved to pack up his bag. ‘I guess I could do this in the Great Hall.’

‘You haven’t finished your schoolwork yet?’

‘I normally have time during breakfast.’ Albus spoke slowly as if Draco had hit his head too hard and just wasn’t getting simple concepts at the moment. ‘Are you sure you’re okay?’

‘Because I want breakfast?’

‘Well, yeah.’

Draco crossed his arms and then thought better of it. How did Scorpius normally stand? Instead he ran his hand through his hair like Harry did when he was frustrated. ‘Sorry, I just woke up from a nightmare. I’m up earlier than usual … and thought food might make me feel better.’

‘So you want to go to breakfast?’ Albus reiterated. Honestly, Albus had never seemed more like Harry’s son than in this moment. He’d always thought Albus was quicker than this.

‘Yes!’ After running his hand through his hair, Draco had decided he’d be showering quickly first. ‘Just let me get ready.’

As he showered, Draco realised there was no way he could cancel his appointments that day. There were wedding plans and regular clients that depended on him. He had to make it or Scorpius would have to do it as he figured out a solution. He was seventeen. He could handle a few appointments.

#

‘Are you ever getting up?’ a deep voice whispered in Scorpius’ ear.

The strong, warm arm felt good around him at first until he registered that it was far too big to be Albus. As well as, Albus had never done that before and this wasn’t a dream. It was a very real arm around him. Scorpius froze and then shoved the man away from him before falling out of the bed onto … a soft rug?

It only took a moment of taking in his surroundings to see that he was in Harry’s bed at Hogwarts.

Looking up, he could see Harry peering down at him with a look of concern on his face.

‘I can explain!’ Scorpius screamed as he tried to figure out a good explanation for how he ended up there.

‘Explain?’ Harry asked. ‘Draco, are you okay? What on earth were you dreaming about? Were you having another nightmare? It didn’t seem like you were this time.’

Nightmare? This certainly seemed like a nightmare. ‘Yes, a nightmare. Sorry, it’s taking me a moment to shake it off.’

‘It wasn’t the Death Eater circle again, was it?’ Harry got out of bed and came to sit on the floor next to Scorpius. ‘You’re normally more active when you have a nightmare.’

‘No,’ Scorpius said. He wasn’t sure what Harry was talking about, but didn’t have time to ask questions. ‘It wasn’t that bad. I’m just disoriented.’

Looking down, he saw his father’s hands. Of course, he’d have spent the night with Harry. His father would find some way to blame this all on him, but he had to contact him. 

‘I need to see Scorpius.’

‘Right now?’

‘Yes, right now.’

Harry scratched his chin. ‘He’s probably still sleeping. How about we have some breakfast first. Let the boys have a chance to wake up? Maybe see him at lunch? You have work today, don’t you?’

‘I don’t know.’ Scorpius thought better of it and said, ‘of course, of course, I do. But I need to see him before that.’ Jumping up, he screamed, ‘Breakfast! Yes, let’s go to breakfast!’

Harry really looked worried then. ‘Draco, we can’t go see the boys at breakfast.’

‘Yes! My fa—he’ll be at breakfast.’ His father never missed breakfast.

‘You want to eat breakfast in the Great Hall?’

‘No!’ Scorpius thought for a moment. ‘I just need to see Scorpius before class. We can eat here and catch them at breakfast.’

‘Scorpius never eats breakfast.’

‘I have a feeling he’ll change his mind today,’ Scorpius more muttered to himself than said it aloud. 

‘After five years?’ Harry said with a little laugh.

He didn’t realise that Harry had kept such close track on him. ‘How’d you know it’s been five years?’

‘I have eyes. Our sons have been best friends since year one and Albus goes wherever Scorpius is; therefore, he is also not where Scorpius isn’t. He says that he does still eat every morning. Just not in the Great Hall.’ 

‘Merlin, does Albus tell you everything!’

‘I would hope so.’

They were silent for a moment where Harry reddened as if he’d said something wrong.

‘I didn’t mean anything by that.’

Scorpius shrugged it off. If that information would bother his father, he didn’t really know. He didn’t tell his father everything. They weren’t close in the same way that Albus was with his dad, or Lily was with Harry either, come to think of it.

‘Albus tells you everything?’ Scorpius had questions and wondered if maybe Harry might have the answer.

‘I’ve always been very open with them and—’ 

‘Of course.’

There was no way for him to ask about Albus’ feelings toward Scorpius without it seeming suspicious. His thoughts still hung there.

‘How is he feeling about our marriage?’

‘He’s happy for us.’

‘What about… what it means for him? For his relationship with Scorpius.’

Harry rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘I don’t know if he’s mentioned it,’ he said. ‘He’s happy that he and Scorpius will be able to spend even more time together, I think.’

Scorpius nodded, though he didn’t know whether to be pleased or disappointed that Albus hadn’t spoken to Harry about his feelings towards Scorpius. 

‘Come on,’ Harry said after a few moments of silence. ‘Get dressed and we’ll have breakfast. Then you can go and find Scorpius if you really want to. I assume this is something to do with last night?’

Scorpius nodded again, absently looking around the room to see where his father’s clothes were from the night before. ‘Yeah, I… need to speak to him again about what happened.’

‘I thought as much,’ Harry said, slipping out of bed and moving towards the en-suite bathroom. 

Scorpius looked over at him, then quickly turned away again as he caught a glimpse of Harry’s bare backside. He knew he must have gone crimson. ‘Y-Yes, his behaviour really can’t continue,’ he stammered. ‘I need to make sure he understood me.’ 

‘Is there anything I can help with?’ Harry asked, his voice muffled by the bathroom door. ‘Should I talk to him?’

‘No!’ Scorpius practically shouted. ‘Ah… no, I don’t think that would help, given how he acted in your class.’

‘Fair point,’ Harry replied. ‘I’ll try and keep an eye on him when I can. I always do.’

Scorpius blinked. He hadn’t realised he was looked out for so much but was sure his father would know that Harry looked out for him. ‘I know.’

‘He’s a good boy,’ Harry said. ‘This is just hard for him, I suppose. Probably thinks I’m trying to replace his mum.’ 

‘No, he knows you’re not,’ Scorpius replied, automatically. ‘I’m sure of it.’

‘I hope so,’ Harry answered, wrapping his arms around Scorpius from behind, not noticing that he immediately froze. ‘That’s the last thing I’d want to do.’

‘Uh… yeah, I… _he_ knows,’ Scorpius stuttered, leaning away from Harry slightly as he attempted to kiss Scorpius’ cheek, his lips brushing the earlobe instead.

‘Go on then,’ Harry said, releasing Scorpius without commenting on the leaning away. ‘Go and get yourself washed up and dressed or you’ll miss Scorpius before his first class.’ 

Scorpius slid off the bed and did his best to walk to the bathroom as normally as possible. He could feel his heart thumping in his - _no_, his _dad’s_ \- chest. He knew it was silly, because to Harry, he looked like Draco but he couldn’t help but feel weird about having _Professor Potter’s_ arms around him. 

Closing the bathroom door behind him, Scorpius leant against it, tipping his head back against the wood. He had to find his father as quickly as possible before things got really out of hand. He moved swiftly now, splashing some water on his face. He stared at the toothbrushes for a moment, wondering which one was his dad’s. Going with stereotype, he picked up the green one and used it before venturing back into the bedroom to get dressed. 

He dressed quickly, wondering how often his dad spent the night at Hogwarts with Harry. Whenever he’d spoken with him, he’d always been at home; Scorpius had been able to see the portrait of his mother on the wall opposite the fireplace. Smoothing a crease out of the shirt he’d put on, Scorpius looked in the mirror. He gazed at his father’s reflection looking back at him and bit his lip gently. This was just too freaky. 

‘Oh, you’re ready,’ Harry said, reappearing from wherever he’d been. ‘Let’s go. We can go by the Slytherin dorm on our way to the Great Hall, we might bump into the boys.’

‘Great, let’s go!’ Scorpius replied, slightly too giddily. 

They opened the door to find Albus and Draco on the other side, Draco’s hand poised to knock. 

Scorpius stared at Draco wide-eyed, seeing the same look staring back at him. 

‘Morning, Dad!’ Albus said brightly. ‘Scorpius wanted to see if his dad was here.’

‘Morning, Albus,’ Harry replied with a smile. ‘You’re in luck, Scorpius. Come on, Albus. We’ll go to breakfast.’ 

Albus nodded and turned, falling into step with Harry as Scorpius and Draco continued to stare at each other. 

Glancing over his shoulder, Draco looked back at Scorpius. ‘Get back in there,’ he hissed, pushing past and going into Harry’s rooms. 

Scorpius glanced along the corridor before stepping backwards and shutting the door after him. Then he turned and looked at his father, except it was himself staring back. ‘What happened?’

‘I was going to ask you the same thing!’ Draco replied, throwing his hands into the air. ‘I woke up on the stone floor of your dormitory this morning! How did you do this?!’

‘Me?’ Scorpius yelped. ‘I didn’t do this! Why would I do this? I woke up with Mr Potter’s arm around me and then I fell out of bed!’

‘Then how do you explain us having _swapped bodies_?’ Draco asked. ‘I am _getting married_ in two days time, Scorpius! I cannot be in your body when that happens!’ 

‘I know!’ Scorpius retorted, whining slightly. ‘I don’t like this either! I have to go to school and… wait. I can’t go to school looking like you… _you_ have to go to school for me!’ 

Draco bit back a groan. He’d been more than glad when his school days had ended, the walls of this castle held far more painful memories than good ones and he had no desire to relive them. ‘Well, that may be true, but _you_ need to meet the wedding planner to make sure everything is ready for the weekend.’

Scorpius made a face. ‘Great,’ he muttered. 

‘_And_, I have a long-standing weekly appointment,’ Draco said quickly. ‘You’ll have to take it. Do _not_, under any circumstances, try and give anyone advice! Just listen and say ‘how does that make you feel?’ and write down whatever response he gives.’ 

‘Before or after the wedding planner?’ Scorpius asked, a puzzled look on his face. ‘What time is the wedding planner? What am I supposed to say?’ 

Draco looked at the clock. ‘The wedding planner will be at the house at two pm. The appointment is at eleven thirty,’ he said, turning back to Scorpius. ‘Then I have an afternoon appointment with another regular client.’ 

‘I can’t—’ Scorpius began, looking panicked. 

‘Scorpius, you _can_. You have to!’ Draco replied, putting his hands on Scorpius’ shoulders. ‘I will go to your classes and… what classes do you have?’ 

‘Care of Magical Creatures, Divination and… Potions,’ Scorpius replied, biting his lip slightly. He knew his father would find Potions difficult - not in terms of the actual potion making, but of being in the lab at all. 

Draco closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. ‘All right,’ he said. ‘All right, I can do that.’ 

‘And it’s Gobstones Club today, too,’ Scorpius continued. ‘You can’t miss that. I’m supposed to be taking on Karl Jenkins, and I _have_ to beat him.’

‘Gobstones?’ Draco repeated, doubtfully. ‘Really?’ 

‘_Yes_,’ Scorpius answered, firmly. ‘Really.’

#

Scorpius tried not to yawn as he listened to Norman complain about his life. There was something about the Muggles that lived all around him. Scorpius wanted to ask why he just didn’t live in a magical district if Muggles bothered him so much, but instead whenever Norman paused he simply asked:

‘And how does that make you feel?’

‘Helpless! Without my wand … what if one of them attacks me?’

‘You do know that Muggles walk around without wands to protect them from you all the time, right?’

Norman was quiet for a moment before the panic set in again, but before he could go into another anxiety-filled ramble Scorpius said, ‘And how does that make you feel?’

He calmed down as he thought about it. ‘I guess: safer?’

‘Good. That’s good.’

‘But—’

‘No buts,’ Scorpius said, sounding too much like his father in that moment. ‘You are safe. Hold on to that thought.’

‘I am safe.’

‘Nothing bad is going to happen.’

‘Of course,’ Norman agreed. ‘Nothing _bad_ is going to happen.’

Scorpius kept with the positive thoughts as he walked Norman to the door at the end of their session. 

‘Think good thoughts, Norman!’

He shut the door with a sigh. How did his father have the patience for this? 

There wasn’t much time between his appointment with Norman and the appointment with the wedding planner. He double-checked his father’s appointment book and then rushed past his secretary without a word. Scorpius had no idea how his father treated him. If he talked to him the way he did Scorpius or more the way he treated Harry’s kids? Commanding him around or proper and polite? He thought it was best to just avoid contact as much as possible.

When he arrived at the meeting with the wedding planner, Harry was already there. ‘Oh, good, you’re here,’ Harry said, moving to greet Scorpius with a kiss. 

‘Yes, sorry, my appointment ran a bit late,’ Scorpius answered, turning his head at the last second so that Harry’s kiss landed on his cheek instead of his lips. ‘What are we discussing?’ 

Harry gave him a confused look, but then turned to the wedding planner expectantly. 

‘The catering choices,’ the wedding planner replied, pulling a piece of paper from a large folder. ‘Or, more specifically, the numbers. We need to make sure they’re correct and that everyone is down to receive the correct dish.’ 

Scorpius took the paper and looked at it. His eyes fell on the name ‘Jenkins’ and he made a face. ‘Why is he on here? He’s not coming!’

‘Who?’ Harry asked, leaning over Scorpius’ shoulder to see the list. 

‘Jenkins,’ Scorpius replied. ‘I don’t want him at the wedding; he needs to be uninvited.’

‘But that’s—’ Harry began. 

‘No buts! I want him uninvited,’ Scorpius said, turning to the wedding planner who made a note on another piece of paper, looking bewildered. 

Harry opened his mouth to speak once more but closed it again quickly. The last thing they needed now was an argument. 

‘So, catering choices,’ Scorpius said, looking at Harry pointedly so that he sat down to look over the lists.

#

Draco was an adult and he had no reason to be nervous. It was just Gobstones. He taught Scorpius how to play, but those nights so many years ago were also the last time he played. Then there was the stench. He never understood why seventh years still played the game, so of course it was Scorpius’ favourite.

‘Ready to lose, Malfoy?’ 

Draco turned automatically towards the voice that had spoken, his eyes growing wide as he took in the tall, thick-set boy walking across the room. This must be Karl Jenkins, he thought. He lifted his chin defiantly - something he’d done thousands of times during his own school days - and eyed Karl warily. ‘I should be asking you that.’ 

Jenkins laughed, his eyes glinting maliciously. ‘You really think you can win?’

‘I’m a Malfoy,’ Draco replied, the old sneer creeping onto his face. ‘Of course I can win.’

Jenkins snorted. ‘Righto,’ he said. ‘And where’s your Slytherin Squib mate?’ 

Draco faltered, wondering who Jenkins could be talking about. ‘I—’

‘I’m here,’ Albus’ voice came from somewhere in the crowd of people that were gathering. 

Draco turned to see the untidy black hair of Albus appear at his side. He frowned at the nickname that Jenkins had given him, but then gave Albus a smile. 

‘Come on then, Jenkins,’ Albus said. ‘Let’s get this game going.’ 

Jenkins grumbled slightly, but sat down. 

Draco did the same, feeling grateful for Albus’ arrival. His nerves had dissipated slightly, as he tried to remember the quickest way of winning a game of Gobstones. He knew he needed to avoid getting a face full of the disgusting liquid contained in the stones if he wanted any chance of winning. 

Albus made a great show of opening the case containing the set of Gobstones and distributed them evenly between Jenkins and Draco. ‘All right, gentlemen, you know the rules. We’re playing a classic game, the first one to knock seven Gobstones out of the circle wins. Scorpius will go first.’

‘Oh, yeah,’ Jenkins snorted. ‘Of course Voldemort’s child gets to go first, just because he’s your mate!’

Draco glared at Jenkins, shocked at the insult that had just been thrown his way. ‘It doesn’t matter which one of us goes first, Jenkins, I’m still going to crush you!’

Jenkins sneered. ‘Go on then,’ he said. ‘Let’s see you try.’

Draco narrowed his eyes at Jenkins. He couldn’t help but wonder if Scorpius had to deal with this on a daily basis. He was the president of the club. He didn’t need to _try_; he was good at it.

‘I couldn’t possibly go first, as the president of this club, I insist you start.’

He glared at Draco, but took his place. ‘Alright then.’

It was a good hit. Three out on the first turn. Draco took his turn and it wasn’t bad. It wasn’t good either, but it had been a while. He only got one. Jenkins took the next turn and then back to Draco, neither of them getting a hit. Their next turns Draco got two and they were tied. He looked up to Albus and caught a smile. Unfortunately, Jenkins saw it too and this seemed to just set him off farther. 

With his next hit, Jenkins used a little magic to knock three marbles out. It was so obvious--two of them were nowhere near the one he’d actually hit--that Draco just stared in shock for a moment while he waited for Albus to call it.

‘Jenkins!’

‘Prove it!’ Then he smirked . ‘It’s just a friendly game after all.’

Albus rolled his eyes and then shook his head when Draco opened his mouth to speak.

It wasn’t long before, of course, Jenkins won.

#

Harry cleared his throat after he’d taken his last bite of salmon. ‘Is there a reason for the last minute changes that you wanted to talk about?’

‘Oh, it’s just a fish,’ Scorpius said. His dad had the worst taste in fish. If he had to have fish at his wedding, he could at least pick one that most people would enjoy eating, instead of the one to show just how rich they were.

‘It’s not the fish,’ Harry said. ‘Did something happen with your secretary?’

‘Uh?’

‘For you to want him to be uninvited to the wedding?’

It took a moment for Scorpius to catch up. ‘Oh! Um… of course not.’ Jenkins must be his father’s secretary. ‘It’s only: who invites a secretary to their wedding? Highly improper.’

Harry raised his eyebrows at that. ‘Well, he’s worked for you since he left Hogwarts and the only secretary you could keep for longer than two months. You invited everyone, even people you hate.’

Scorpius didn’t know how to answer that. More food arrived and Harry must have thought his silence meant that he was ready to have a conversation, because he added, ‘Speaking of improper: who doesn’t invite their own father to their wedding?’

‘What?’ Scorpius had no idea that his grandfather wasn’t invited.

‘I know he hasn’t been very supportive of this.’ Harry gestured between them. ‘Or of you in general but your mum is still refusing to come unless he does.’

His grandparents weren’t coming? ‘What?’

‘You know I’m not his biggest fan either, and I said I wouldn’t take sides in your disagreements. But, I would like your mother to be there, and … I love her determination and devotion. I want that for us.’

‘He can come,’ Scorpius said, not even bothering to sound like his father.

‘Your father or your secretary?’

‘My father, of course.’ Then at the look on Harry’s face he changed his mind. ‘Both. I meant both.’

‘Great, I’ll send an owl.’

‘I’ll tell them.’

‘Really?’ Harry said as though he wasn’t sure he believed him.

‘I’ll take the invitation to them myself.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘I can handle a conversation with my father.’ Scorpius laughed. ‘It’s no big deal. Here comes the cake!’

#

‘Why didn’t you call him out for cheating!’ Draco hissed at Albus. He’d just finished cleaning the stink off himself and was finishing up his hair.

‘Um, because we can’t?’ Albus said as he gave Draco’s hair a strange look.

‘What? That’s ridiculous. You were meant to judge, and I’m the president of the club; it’s our duty to call out cheating!’

‘Right, but you know we can’t. This isn’t news, Scorpius. You will get banned from the club if you try to fight with anyone in it.’

Draco didn’t understand why Scorpius would even want to be the president if that were the case. ‘This makes no sense.’

‘I know it’s unfair. _We’ve_ both known it was unfair the whole time. I’ll get accused of siding with you since we’re friends, as always. And you get accused of foul play no matter what. That’s why you never go to competitions. And why didn’t you go first? You could have won had you gone first.’

After a beat, Albus added, ‘well, normally you could have.’

‘I’m just having an off day.’

‘Well, look at the bright side: Jenkins didn’t accuse you of cheating this time, and since he practices cheating more than the game he’ll certainly lose at the competition tonight.’ 

‘At the what?’

‘The competition tonight.’

‘I was never told about a competition tonight,’ Draco said, with more anger than he’d even realised he had. Scorpius never told Draco about any of this! When Draco was his age—

Actually, that wasn’t right. At seventeen he’d stopped telling his father everything as well, but that was different. This was Gobstones and school related information. Draco never kept things like this from his father. Albus followed him out into the hall but turned in the opposite direction before stopping and shaking his head at Scorpius.

‘Dinner?’ Albus asked. ‘In the Great Hall, I’m presuming?’

‘Yes!’ Draco said, determined.

‘You lead, and I’ll follow. But just a reminder that dad’s not going to be there tonight.’

He wasn’t sure what that meant, but knew that he wanted to find out. ‘I’m sure we can handle it.’ 

He stopped himself before he added his traditional: or my father will. When Draco was in school, he called his father for everything. He’d always assumed Scorpius was doing alright since he never got a letter home complaining about anything. Looking back, he remembered hints of things, but never the full blown details that he gave his own father. 

As they entered the Great Hall, it was much the same as his school days there. He tried to hold on to the memory of his earlier years there instead of his later ones. It looked like the early ones as they went to join their table. 

Mostly, they went unnoticed. Until they passed the Hufflepuff table and a familiar voice sounded above the chatter. 

‘Yeah, I mean, it wasn’t like I had real competition this afternoon. I was bound to win.’ 

‘_Ignore him_,’ Albus hissed in Draco’s ear. ‘He’s just trying to get a reaction.’ 

Draco looked at Albus indignantly. ‘Why should I ignore him? He’s a cheat!’ 

‘Scorpius, we’ve been through this already,’ Albus sighed. ‘You can’t call him out on it. It’ll turn into a fight, and then you’ll be banned.’ 

‘Absolute rot!’ Draco retorted before turning to face the direction of Jenkins’ voice. As he opened his mouth to speak, Albus gave him a rough shove towards the Slytherin table. 

‘Leave it!’ 

Draco glared at Albus but stumbled towards the Slytherin table anyway. 

‘That’s right, Malfoy! Keep walking!’ Jenkins called, having noticed the commotion. ‘We don’t want _losers_ at our table!’ 

Draco glared over his shoulder and sat down with a thud. ‘This is ridiculous,’ he muttered under his breath. 

‘What?” Albus asked, as he sat down beside Draco. 

‘Nothing,’ Draco replied. ‘Just remembering why I normally avoid this place.’ 

‘Do you want to leave? We can eat out by the lake like usual?’

Draco shook his head. ‘No, we’re here now. We might as well stay.’ He wanted to see what else went on during lunch for Scorpius to hate it so much. 

‘All right, if you’re sure,’ Albus replied, watching Draco carefully. 

‘I am,’ Draco replied quietly. He was saved from having to say anything else when the plates loaded with food appeared in front of them. He began to pile food onto his own plate, remembering all his favourites from when he was at school. He had just dolloped some mashed potatoes onto his plate and was returning the spoon to the main bowl when there was a splatter. He looked down to see the front of his robes covered in the mashed potato he’d just put on his plate. A glance to his right told him that Albus had also copped some of the mess. Laughter rippled around them as other students realised what had happened. 

Albus reached over and coolly removed a crusty bread roll from Draco’s plate. 

Draco fully expected him to stand up and question the other students. Instead, Albus placed the roll on the table and went back to putting food on his own plate. Frowning, Draco looked down at himself again and wiped at the potato that covered his robes and jumper. He couldn’t believe that Scorpius put up with things like this. This would never have happened when he was at school, he thought. 

Except, perhaps, after he’d been outed as a Death Eater. Plenty of people had been on his case then, and he’d been thankful for Crabbe and Goyle as they’d prevented anyone from getting physical. It seemed that Scorpius wasn’t in the same boat - Albus was in some ways exactly like Harry, but confronting people wasn’t one of them. He realised now that Albus much preferred to keep his head down and not draw attention to the fact that he’s Harry’s son. 

Draco began to eat quietly, trying not to attract any more attention. He steadfastly ignored the few peas that were thrown his way, determined not to get himself into trouble. While he was eating, he resolved to speak to Scorpius about this the next chance he got - he couldn’t help thinking that if Scorpius had talked to him about this in the first place, he could have spoken to the head and had it sorted out, but then, knowing Scorpius, that was the exact reason he _hadn’t_ come to Draco. 

As soon as the bell signalling the end of dinner rang, Draco stood up, intending to get to class as quickly as possible. Then he realised he didn’t know which class he had. 

Albus stood up beside him. ‘Come on, we’d better get down to the greenhouse,’ he said. ‘Professor Sprout will give us detention if we’re late.’

‘Right. Herbology,’ Draco muttered, following Albus out of the Great Hall. ‘Wait, did we have homework?’

‘Yeah, we did it on Wednesday morning, remember?’ Albus said, giving Draco a funny look. 

‘Oh yeah,’ Draco replied faintly. It was getting hard to remember what Albus had told him.

#

Late that afternoon, after classes had ended, Draco had set off to find Scorpius again, before being stopped by Albus.

‘Aren’t you coming to the Gobstones competition?’

‘That’s not for another few hours is it?’ Draco asked, surprised. 

‘Well, no, but we usually get there early…’ Albus said, slowly. 

‘Oh. Right. Well, I need to… I need to speak to my dad about something,’ Draco replied. ‘Can I meet you there?’

‘I suppose so,’ Albus said, an indecipherable look on his face. ‘I’ll meet you in the entrance hall later then?’ 

‘Yes,’ Draco replied. ‘I’ll only be an hour or so. We can still get there early,’ he added, feeling bad for letting Albus down. 

‘Okay, I’ll meet you in an hour,’ Albus said, nodding. 

Draco gave a little wave and headed for Harry’s office. Walking through the corridors of the school, Draco realised he had never felt this vulnerable while he was at school. He was used to wielding the power that being a Prefect brought, not being worried about bumping into a Prefect who may, or may not, like him. Thinking about it now, he felt terrible for Scorpius that his school days had been tarnished by his father’s reputation. Before he knew it, he was standing outside of Harry’s office door. He raised his hand to knock. 

‘Scorpius?’ Harry asked when he opened the door. ‘I wasn’t expecting to see you today. You already completed your detention…’ 

‘I need to speak to my dad about something,’ Draco said, hoping he was giving Harry the innocent look he thought he was. 

‘Oh, I’m afraid he’s not here,’ Harry apologised. ‘He went to see your grandparents.’ 

‘Mo- My grandparents?’ Draco asked quickly, trying not to show his surprise. ‘Er. Why?’ 

‘He’s gone to take them an invitation to the wedding,’ Harry replied, a proud smile appearing on his face. 

‘What!’ Draco yelped, forgetting himself for a moment. ‘Why would he do that?’ 

‘Well, I thought you would be pleased,’ Harry said, frowning slightly. ‘I know you wanted them to come, and I believe that Draco has decided to be the bigger man.’ 

‘Can I use your fireplace?’ Draco asked, ignoring Harry’s frown. ‘I need to st- see my dad.’ 

Harry glanced at the clock above his desk. ‘Well, I don’t see why not,’ he replied. ‘Although, you know I shouldn’t really allow a student to use the Floo, don’t you?’ 

Draco nodded impatiently. ‘Yes, yes,’ he said. ‘It really is important that I see him though.’ 

‘All right,’ Harry said, holding his hands up. ‘I won’t ask. I’ll be in the store cupboard, sorting some things out. Give me a shout when you’re back.’ 

‘I will,’ Draco replied breathlessly, pushing past Harry and to the fireplace. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed a pinch of Floo powder, stepped into the fireplace and called out ‘Malfoy Manor’ as he threw the powder into the flames.

#

‘Scorpius!’ Draco yelled as soon as his feet hit the ground. ‘What do you think you are doing!’

Of course, they were all sitting peacefully as though waiting for him sipping tea. Draco straightened himself up and prepared an explanation, but his mum cut him off.

‘We’re discussing the wedding, of course, darling,’ she said, smiling. ‘Would you like to join us?’

After knowing his family his whole life, he’d like to think that he knew them well enough to tell when something was amiss. He searched Scorpius’ face and saw no fear. His mother looked pleased with herself. He couldn’t bring himself to look at his father.

‘Scorpius,’ Lucius began. 

Draco rolled his eyes and was thankful he was in a teenager’s body at the moment. 

‘Has invited us to the wedding.’

That got Draco to look in his father’s direction. ‘He - I did no such thing! You - of course, you—’ 

‘Figured it out the moment he stepped through the Floo.’

‘_I_,’ his mum said, ‘figured it out. _You_ simply hadn’t disagreed.’

‘Which is an agreement!’

Draco looked at Scorpius and shook his head. ‘You want these two at my wedding?’

‘How can you not invite your own parents to your wedding?’ Scorpius finally spoke up.

‘Oh, I’m sure you plan on doing the same thing to me.’

‘I would never get married without telling you! If Albus ever—’ Scorpius reddened. ‘That’s beside the point. I wouldn’t refuse to let you come. It be more your style to just not show up!’

‘Albus?’ Narcissa said. ‘Are you two finally dating?’

‘No!’ Horror washed over Scorpius’ face and Draco pinched the bridge of his nose. Watching Scorpius’ emotions in his own body was just freaky, and he just knew his father was about to say something about it.

‘Even knowing the two of you are switched,’ Lucius said, ‘watching this conversation is still confusing. How about we take one topic at a time, please. Scorpius has invited us to your wedding.’

‘No,’ Draco said firmly.

‘And,’ Lucius continued, ‘he’s already informed your soon to be spouse of it. From what I’ve heard, he’s delighted about the news.’

‘Yes, I know that, and I’d hardly say he was _delighted_. He simply wants mum there. Do you even want to come? Why would you even want to come?’

‘Because you’re my only son.’

‘Then have another one!’

‘Ignore the _only_ part, darling,’ his mum said. ‘He doesn’t mean that the way you are reading it. It’s a vocular habit, not a judgement. You’re his son. That’s all he’s saying.’

‘Of course, that’s what I just said.’ Lucius went back to his tea, clearly frustrated again.

‘You said _only_ son.’

‘There’s a difference?’

‘There’s a difference,’ Scorpius said, catching everyone’s attention. ‘It’s hard being the only one. You have to be everything all at once. Do you want to go to dad's wedding, grandfather?’

‘Of course.’

‘Do you want to go because he is your only son? Or because as he is your son, it would look bad for you not to be there? Or because he’s your son, you love him, and want to be there even if you don’t like Harry?’

Draco raised his hand signaling Scorpius to stop. ‘Scorpius, please, it’s far more complicated than that.’

‘I’m so tired of you all acting like just because _you_ refuse to talk about it that I don’t know about it. I’m almost of age. We study it in history class. I know! I actually do know.’

Everyone was quiet. They always tried not to expose Scorpius to too much about the war and their pasts. Draco had thought they’d done a good job of it. He had even kept his feud with his own father quiet for the most part. Scorpius knew they fought but not so much that Draco had completely cut him out of his life years before. Once Scorpius could visit the Manor on his own, Draco didn’t see a point in stopping by. 

‘If the issue were that he didn’t like Harry, neither one of us would be bothered by him being there,’ Draco said. ‘The problem is that he doesn’t like me.’

‘That isn’t true,’ Lucius said.

‘Everything I do, you disagree with!’

‘Only the disagreeable things you do.’

‘Everything that is me instead of what I do that is like you?’

Scorpius snorted. ‘That feels familiar.’

‘We are nothing like this,’ Draco gestured to his father. ‘I noticed the Albus comment and said nothing.’

Scorpius spoke over Draco’s ‘Although, we’ll need to talk about that later,’ with his own, ‘I’m sure we’ll talk about it later.’

Narcissa snorted at that and tried to hide her smirk behind her tea cup. Then the clock struck and Scorpius jumped up from his seat.

‘What time is it?’ Turning on his father, Scorpius yelled, ‘you can’t be here. The Gobstones tournament is happening right now!’

‘And the rehearsal dinner is in an hour,’ Draco reminded him.

‘It’s just the rehearsal and this is the last—’

‘You’re not even playing, which you should have told me about!’

Scorpius rolled his eyes. ‘Like, you always say: it’s complicated.’

‘I could have talked to someone.’

‘Like they’d listen to you. They don’t even listen to Mr Potter.’

‘Well,’ Lucius said. ‘People never did listen to Potter. He doesn’t know how to command a presence.’

‘You mean he doesn’t use intimidation to get his way,’ Draco said. ‘I still haven’t said you can come to my wedding.’

‘What you say doesn’t matter at the moment,’ Lucius pointed out. ‘Scorpius is in the adult’s shoes and Harry listens to him. He is expecting us there, so we will gladly be there. But, at this moment, I’m hearing of a more pressing matter of a Gobstones tournament. Shall we Apparate?’ 

Draco wanted to protest. He looked at Scorpius and thought better of it. Grudgingly, he nodded.

‘Really?’ Scorpius said standing to join them. ‘We’re all going? Together?’

He pinched the bridge of his nose. It had been a while since they’d all been in the same room together, and this time he had to play Scorpius’s part. At least, he wasn’t competing. 

‘Yes, of course,’ Draco finally said. ‘We’re already late, and I’m sure Albus is worried about you.’

‘Where did you tell him you were going?’ Scorpius asked, realising that he had no idea. 

‘I told him I needed to see my dad,’ Draco replied. ‘I didn’t realise exactly how true that would become.’ 

‘How did you get here?’ Scorpius asked, as it only just dawned on him that, as a student, he would never have been able to leave Hogwarts like that. 

‘I used Harry’s fireplace,’ Draco replied. ‘Isn’t that how you got here?’ 

‘Yeah, but… I look like you. You look like me,’ Scorpius replied. 

Draco shrugged, something that came easier to him in Scorpius’ body, he noted. ‘I just told him it was really important.’

‘Well, it was,’ Scorpius answered. ‘And it got you to agree that Grandfather can come to the wedding.’ 

‘I haven’t agreed yet,’ Draco replied through gritted teeth. ‘I can’t Apparate,’ he added, turning to face Lucius. ‘Harry is expecting me back through the Floo. You can Apparate to the gates if you want, but Scorpius is coming with me.’ 

Lucius looked between Draco and Scorpius before turning to Narcissa. ‘It looks like we’re travelling by Floo then,’ he said, wrinkling his nose slightly. 

Narcissa nodded and stood up, reaching for her travelling cloak. 

‘Scorpius, let’s go,’ Draco said, gesturing for Scorpius to join him.

Scorpius stepped forward. ‘You go first,’ he said. 

‘I will be waiting for you on the other side,’ Draco replied, looking at Scorpius pointedly.

#

Arriving back in Harry’s office, Draco quickly looked around to see if the Professor was anywhere. Glancing at the clock, he realised that Harry must have left for the rehearsal dinner already. If they were quick, he and Scorpius would be able to get to both the tournament and the dinner on time.

He stepped away from the fireplace just as Scorpius appeared and stepped out. ‘Dad, we need to go,’ he said immediately. 

‘Don’t you want to wait for your grandparents?’ Draco asked, his lip curling slightly. 

‘I _will_ wait for them,’ Scorpius replied. ‘It’s _you_ who should be at the tournament by now. Go!’ 

Draco gave Scorpius a glare before rushing off towards the courtyard. 

Scorpius ran a hand through his hair, before quickly smoothing it down again. His father was never seen with messy hair. He turned quickly as the Floo roared into life again and Lucius stepped out, followed by Narcissa.

‘This way,’ Scorpius said, heading for the door. ‘The tournament is being held in the courtyard.’ 

Lucius wrinkled his nose and opened his mouth to reply before being silenced by a look from Narcissa. 

‘Lead the way, darling,’ Narcissa said, smiling at Scorpius. 

Scorpius nodded and strode out of Harry’s office, attempting to look like he had every right to be there. He was well aware that the sight of Draco Malfoy walking through the corridors of Hogwarts, flanked by his parents, was bound to turn a few heads. 

Within minutes, they arrived in the courtyard and Scorpius looked around to locate Albus, spotting him in the far corner with Draco by his side. He edged his way around the crowd of people, trying to make his way towards Albus. 

‘I had forgotten what these crowds of… children were like,’ Lucius sniffed from behind him. 

Scorpius turned to look at Lucius, a questioning look on his face. 

Lucius did his best to look innocent as he received an elbow in the side from Narcissa. 

Scorpius shook his head and continued making his way towards Albus. He was suddenly anxious about what Draco could be saying. 

Before he knew it, he was standing behind Draco and Albus. ‘Did I miss anything?’ 

‘No, nothing has happened yet,’ Albus replied, turning to give Scorpius a smile. ‘Oh, hello Mr and Mrs Malfoy. Scorp, you didn’t say your grandparents were coming?’ 

‘Oh,’ Draco said. ‘I didn’t know myself. Hello Grandfather, Grandmother.’

‘We thought it would be a nice surprise,’ Narcissa said. ‘It has been so long since we’ve been to Hogwarts.’

‘Right,’ Albus said, looking around at the group assembled there.

‘Are you competing?’ Narcissa asked Albus.

‘Um, no. Scorp and I never do.’

Lucius was the one to ask, ‘and why is that?’

Albus looked to Draco hoping for help, but he offered none as he wanted an answer for that himself. Scorpius jumped in trying to smooth things over.

‘It’s a little late for them to sign up now,’ Scorpius said, then pointed to the board where the rounds were being tracked. ‘We’re well into the second round now. Besides, would it be appropriate for the president of the club to join in on competitions, really? That might seem unfair?’

Even as Scorpius said it as matter-as-factly as his father said everything, he lost his confidence in the end. There were few people interested in competing at Gobstones. Only five schools, including Hogwarts, had large enough clubs to bother traveling to England for the tournament. All of their club presidents were taking part. They were not always the best players from their club. Wanger was loads better than the president of his club, and so was Jensen. She could beat Scorpius for sure, if he ever had the chance to play her.

The most important part of being there was that Albus and Scorpius had to watch their team to ensure that they weren’t cheating. If one participant was caught cheating the whole school would be disqualified.

‘I just hope Jenkins isn’t dumb enough to try and cheat,’ Albus said, mirroring Scorpius’ thoughts.

Draco scanned the crowd looking for him at the mention of the name. Scorpius saw his father’s expression turn from curious to disgusted as his eyes landed on Jenkins. 

‘He doesn’t look like he’s cheating,’ Draco murmured, watching Jenkins for a moment. ‘He looks like he’s losing though.’

‘Well we knew that would happen,’ Albus sighed. ‘But if he’s losing now, keep an eye on him. He’s bound to try something if he’s losing.’

Draco nodded grimly, watching Jenkins closely. He wondered if he’d be able to stop him from cheating if he caught the sign quickly enough. Maybe a preventative charm would work, he thought, reaching carefully into his robes for his wand. He kept it hidden beneath his robe, but shifted so that he could aim at Jenkins and he muttered a charm that Scorpius would never have known in a million years as it wasn’t taught at Hogwarts. 

‘What was that?’ Albus whispered, his voice very close to Draco’s ear. 

‘Oh, uh…’ Draco faltered. ‘It’s something I’ve heard my dad use before. It’ll stop him cheating before he even tries.’ 

‘Nice,’ Albus replied after a moment, looking impressed. ‘Teach me it later? It’ll come in handy during club meetings.’ 

Draco nodded absently, his eyes still fixed on Jenkins who was now looking confused. ‘Al… what happens if Jenkins gets disqualified?’ 

‘We’ll have to put a replacement in,’ Albus replied. ‘We can’t not play this match.’

‘Put me in,’ Draco whispered. 

‘What?’ Albus yelped, before lowering his voice. ‘Are you sure? After that last practice?’

‘Yes,’ Draco insisted. ‘I told you I was having an off day. I can play.’ 

‘All right,’ Albus replied, sounding doubtful. ‘If you’re sure. And you’re not just doing it because you think you have to, seeing as your grandparents are here.’

Draco managed to stop himself from snorting derisively. ‘I’m not doing it because they’re here,’ he said. ‘I promise. I want to play.’

Albus nodded. ‘All right. If he gets disqualified, you’re in.’ 

Draco smiled. He would show them that he could play. He was still smarting from being covered in the stinking liquid earlier that afternoon and he wanted to prove that he wasn’t useless. The fact that his father was in the room had nothing to do with it. 

‘Uh oh,’ Albus muttered. 

Draco looked back at Jenkins, realising that he was on the verge of having an actual tantrum as his robes were covered in the foul smelling liquid that was usually in the Gobstones. He couldn’t help but grin. 

‘At least pretend you’re not enjoying this,’ Albus hissed, elbowing him in the side. 

‘Hey, it’s not my fault he’s having a meltdown because he can’t cheat,’ Draco whispered back. ‘He’s going to get disqualified any second.’

‘He’s going to think you’ve got him disqualified on purpose if you don’t stop grinning,’ Albus warned. ‘Cancel that charm.’

Draco made a face, but muttered a quick _Finite_ just in time for another Gobstone to cover Jenkins’ face with its contents. 

The reaction from Jenkins was one that no-one expected. He pulled his wand out and aimed it at his opponent before he was wrestled to the ground. 

‘Karl Jenkins is disqualified!’ a voice boomed, echoing around the hall. ‘Hogwarts, name your replacement!’

Albus took a deep breath as the rest of the club members turned to him and Draco. ‘Scorpius Malfoy will replace Karl Jenkins,’ he announced, raising his voice. He ignored the shocked whispers that spread through the gathered crowd. 

Draco strode forward, purposely ignoring Scorpius’ attempt to make eye contact with him. He was sure his son wouldn’t approve of this, but something had to be done to change the perception people had of Scorpius. 

He sat down opposite the girl that Jenkins had been playing, who seemed to have recovered from the shock of having a wand pointed at her. It was Hazel from the German team. Lifting his chin slightly, Draco stuck his hand out, smiling at her as she shook it warily. 

‘The game begins!’ the voice boomed again. 

Draco took a deep breath and looked down at his stones, before picking his shooter up to take his first shot. He took aim and sent the stone into the circle, grinning as it took three of his opponent’s stones out. 

‘Urgh!’ Hazel muttered, turning her head quickly to avoid the liquid squirted out by the gobstone. 

Draco shrugged. 

Frowning, she took her shot but fumbled her shooter, sending it past all of Draco’s stones without touching any of them. 

Albus cheered, unable to help himself, before he was shushed.

Draco didn’t dare look up. He was sure that Scorpius was itching to get involved, and he didn’t want to see the expression on his father’s face. Calmly, he reached forward to pick his shooter up again. He took aim and took the shot, taking out another two of the stones. He held his breath as the shooter stopped rolling dangerously close to the edge of the circle.

Jenkins was already behind before Draco took his place. That shot brought them to a tie.

‘Yes,’ he heard Albus quietly cheer behind him.

He only needed two more hits to win. He was nervous about his stone being so close to the edge and took his time with his next shot, even though he was set up perfectly to get the next one out of the ring. It was a hit and he sighed in relief that he didn’t accidentally hit his shooter out of the ring again. 

Draco could tell Hazel was holding her breath as he took his winning shot. It wasn’t set up as well, but since he wasn’t on the edge of the ring he was less nervous about it. The Gobstones shot at Hazel as soon as the winning stone left the ring.

‘Good game,’ Draco said, holding out his hand to her, even though they hadn’t had much of a game with each other.

She shook his hand and nodded and quietly mumbled, ‘Thank you.’

‘Scorpius,’ Scorpius said in a serious tone. ‘We’re going to be late.’

Draco checked the time, confused. They still had some time.

‘Since you took Jenkins’ place,’ Scorpius explained, ‘you have to finish the rest of the rounds each time you win. Not just _this_ game.’

‘Shite,’ Draco said. ‘How many more rounds do we have?’

As people lost and were disqualified, the groups playing around them got smaller. Eventually, only two people would be left. Quickly counting the groups, it looked like eight games were still being played. If every game went as quick as the last one, they could be out of there in half an hour. Luckily, Gobstones wasn’t chess. It went quicker as the better players made it to the top rounds instead of taking longer.

‘It’ll be alright,’ Draco said, with a slight nod. ‘We’ll just be a little late. Harry can take care of it while I’m away.’

Besides, Draco was fairly sure he had no chance at making it to the last round. 

Then he won the next two rounds and the pressure was on. He hadn’t expected to do so well. Scorpius was more excited about it than he was himself. Then there were only four players left. He was playing a boy from Switzerland that he couldn’t pronounce the name of. It was obvious after his first turn that Draco didn’t stand a chance.

Draco had a good round, but it only took the Swiss boy two turns to win the game. He held his breath as the Gobstones shot at him. After shaking the boy’s hand and congratulating him, Draco quickly joined his family.

Scorpius jumped at him, pulling him into a hug. ‘You did great!’

‘Um,’ Draco said startled by the sudden contact. ‘Thank you.’

Albus was nervously checking the time. ‘Dad sent me a patronus ten minutes ago; he’s worried.’

‘You should get going,’ Lucius said, coming toward Draco but not making contact. ‘We’ll see you tomorrow?’

After a beat, Draco nodded. ‘Yes, tomorrow.’

‘I’ll owl you the details tonight,’ Scorpius said excitedly, hugging his grandmother and then his grandfather in his typical fashion: far too quickly and tightly to be seen as proper for a forty year old man. Then sent a beaming smile in Albus’ direction, who was looking at all of them with confusion. 

‘This has been a really odd day,’ Albus said.

‘That it has,’ Draco agreed.

#

Draco and Scorpius rushed into the dining hall twenty minutes late. Everyone looked their way as Draco hung back and Scorpius rushed to Harry.

‘What’s going wrong?’ Harry asked.

‘Wrong?’ Scorpius asked confused. ‘Nothing, nothing—oh, because we’re late! I had this—Scorpius had this thing he had to do, and he needed my help.’ Scorpius could feel himself still grinning like an idiot. ‘It was brilliant.’

‘Brilliant?’ Harry studied Scorpius. ‘Are you sure you’re ready for this?’

‘What? Of course, I am! Scorpius just needed me.’

‘I’m glad,’ Harry said. ‘I know you’ve been worried about how he’s taking this a lot recently. But listen, I have something I need to say.’

‘Right, go ahead.’ Scorpius crossed his arms and looked to the floor ready to listen attentively. 

‘I love you. Whether we get married tomorrow or not, I’ll still love you. We’ll still be together either way. But if this is too much change for right now, then we can wait.’

‘What? NO! Of course, I want to get married tomorrow.’

‘It’s just this week—’

‘You know weddings are stressful to plan. Just because I got a little disorganized doesn’t mean I don’t want to get married.’ Scorpius lowered his voice and then grabbed Harry’s arm to pull him out of the center of the room. He could feel all the eyes around him and knew his father would not approve of the scene. 

Harry looked at Scorpius with concern. ‘I feel like I don’t know what’s been going on with you this week.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Scorpius started. ‘I know I’ve been a bit… all over the place. I thought I’d be able to handle everything but the thought of getting married to you after all the things we’ve been through… that’s kept me going.’

Harry smiled. ‘Well, that’s good to know at least.’

‘I promise you. We will get married tomorrow,’ Scorpius said. ‘And I can’t wait.’

‘Good,’ Harry replied with another smile. ‘Because I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for this.’

Scorpius caught sight of Albus next to Draco, hovering anxiously. Scorpius gazed over at him briefly, giving him a smile. 

Draco, who was watching, had a sudden realisation about Scorpius’ feelings for Albus and gave himself a mental kick. How had he not seen that happening? He remembered looking at Harry in the same way. 

Turning to Albus, Draco opened his mouth to speak. ‘Sorry I’ve been weird,’ he said. 

Albus blinked in surprise. ‘You’re always a bit weird,’ he said. ‘So what are you apologising for specifically?’

‘How I’ve acted over the wedding,’ Draco replied. ‘I can’t really explain, but I thought it might change things… between us.’

‘Between us?’ Albus furrowed his brow. ‘Nothing’s going to change between us, Scorp. You’re my best friend.’

‘I know,’ Draco said. ‘I just lost my mind a bit, but… I think I have things figured out now.’

#

‘Scorpius, wake up!’

A hand touched him, and Scorpius jumped. ‘Don’t touch me.’

‘Whoa, sorry.’

‘Oh, sorry, you can touch me anytime you want to.’ Scorpius could feel his face turning red. ‘I mean. It was just a dream. I didn’t know it was you…’

Albus laughed. ‘I get it. Are you ready?’

‘For what?’

‘Breakfast?’

At Scorpius’ blank look, Albus continued, ‘it’s near ten o’clock. If we wait any longer, it’ll be lunch instead of breakfast. I’ve been up for three hours, and I’m tired of reading. Also, I’m pretty sure everyone left us a while ago to begin wedding day activities.’

‘At nine in the morning? What’s wrong with people?’

‘Weddings are big events.’

‘I’m never getting married. I can’t believe my dad wanted to go through this twice.’

‘I think it’s fun.’ Albus shrugged. ‘Besides, knowing your dad you’re lucky the wedding wasn’t at nine in the morning.’

‘Right,’ Scorpius said, with a laugh.

‘Maybe I should do that.’

‘Have an early morning wedding? Why on earth would you want to do that?’

‘Well, sunrises are beautiful.’

‘At sun_rise_? That’s even earlier!’

Laughing, Albus continued, ‘it’s my favourite time of day, and if you show up then I’ll know you really love me.’

‘What?’

Albus leaned over Scorpius, who was still laying in bed, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Scorpius had never noticed Albus blush before, but maybe that was because he’d been too concerned with his own.

‘Come on.’ Albus backed away, giving Scorpius room to get up. ‘The day is wasting away!’

He didn’t have as much trouble getting himself out of bed after that.

#

‘You getting up anytime soon?’ a voice pulled Draco awake.

He shot up in bed. ‘Am I late for class?’

Harry laughed. ‘You have strange dreams when you’re stressed, you know?’

Draco sighed and fell back against his pillows.

‘Wait. You didn’t sleep here last night, did you?’

‘No, I just got here,’ Harry said. ‘Remember, you requested that I didn’t spend the night. Something about having a proper wedding.’

‘Perfect.’ Draco pulled the blankets around him and snuggled back into his pillows. ‘I think I’ll have a few more minutes.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Do you want to join me?’

‘Are you sure that’s proper?’

‘I’m sure that I don’t care at the moment.’ Once Harry was close enough to the bed, Draco grabbed him and pulled him down on top of him. He kissed him as if he hadn’t seen him in months.

‘Hmmmm,’ Harry said. ‘I’ve been missing that.’

‘Me, too.’

They kissed again for a few minutes and then just lay together until the thoughts of everything Draco had to get done that day made him too antsy to sit still.

As soon as Draco was on his feet, Harry said, ‘Back to the regular then?’

‘Yes,’ Draco said with a smile and then came over to kiss Harry once more as he was reluctant to get out of the bed. ‘You know, I’m glad you decided to become a Professor.’

‘Me, too.’ After a beat, Harry asked, ‘is that why you were dreaming about being late to class?’

‘No, only you’d have been a shite Auror.’

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! You can leave a comment here, on LiveJournal, or on Tumblr.


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